The Utah women’s basketball team will continue its season after earning a bid to the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament, where it will be the No. 1 seed and play Eastern Kentucky in Richmond, Kentucky, on March 19 at 4:30 p.m. Mountain Time.
This postseason appearance marks Utah’s fifth consecutive berth following four straight NCAA Tournament bids. The Utes finished their regular season with a record of 19-12 overall and 10-8 in Big 12 play. Their most recent game was a loss to BYU in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament, where Lani White led with 20 points.
Utah returns several key players from last season, including Maty Wilke, Samantha Crispe, Brooke Walker, and Reese Ross. Lani White has rejoined the team after spending her junior year at Virginia Tech and currently leads Utah with an average of 15.8 points per game. White earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors and has scored in double figures in 17 of the last 19 games.
Head Coach Gavin Petersen is entering his second season as head coach and his eleventh overall with Utah. Petersen was named head coach on Nov. 19, just four games into the previous season, and holds a career record of 38-20. He led Utah to a notable win over No. 3 Notre Dame earlier this season.
Eastern Kentucky enters the tournament with a record of 24-8 under Head Coach Greg Todd. The Colonels are averaging over 72 points per game and have four players scoring in double figures this season.
Utah leads the all-time series against Eastern Kentucky, having won their only previous meeting by a score of 117-72 last November. This upcoming matchup will determine which team advances further in the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament.
